In the textile industry, particularly, the use of bobbins or spools are used to wind, take up, or transport yarn, thread, fibers or rovings. The spool or bobbins are generally made of a reuseable core material. When the rovings, yarn, or fiber has been used or nearly used, the used bobbin is discarded and replaced by a full one. As the used bobbins accumulate they are collected for reuse. However, before new thread or yarn can be rewound on the used spool or carrier core, any roving remnants must be removed.
Many different methods for removing remnant fibers have been attempted with variable success but the process is made even more difficult with certain fibers such as fiber glass, or loose fitting threads which tend to merely slide circularly around the core.
Once fibers have been removed, the waste material must be collected and removed. Such removal is generally messy, ineffective, and incomplete at best and usually requires additions separate and ongoing cleanup efforts which are time-consuming and expensive.